You Love Me?
by Too Much Talker
Summary: An alternate CM hook-up...kind of mushy...please RR! Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me.


"...I heard Santa on the radio  
  
I knew it was Santa on the radio  
  
Mixing up the music like a Santa should  
  
And the radio  
  
Never sounded so good..."  
  
Almost angrily, Monica pressed the 'off' button on the radio with a sigh, drowning out the harmonial voices of Hilary Duff and Christina Milian. 'Christmas was made to make people like me feel depressed,' she declared. She got up, brushed dust off her red leopard print skirt, and decided to look for something that was less Christmas-y to listen to. Only God knew how much she loathed the festival at the moment.  
  
No one to love, no one to be loved by, no one to celebrate one of the most enjoyable events of year with, no one...- Monica stopped listing reasons to hate Christmas and focused on the task at hand. Fishing out a box of casettes that sat at the back of the cupboards, dusty and worn out, she emptied the box on the moth-eaten carpet on Chandler and Joey's apartment floor.   
  
She finally found a casette with the words 'Truth or Dare' scribbled on the cover. 'Why would they be playing truth or dare?' she wondered, amused, as she pushed the tape into the player. She turned up the volume a little to be able to hear the voices louder.  
  
"You really love her?" Joey's clear voice rang out into the nearly deserted apartment.  
  
"Yeah..." Monica could almost picture Chandler's smile. She was curious - who would Chandler love? The guy would run away at the mention of the 'C' word. What was happening?  
  
"Since when?"  
  
"I don't know, it's just I've been with her for so long, and she's just - just...a few days ago she helped me get this present for Ross..."  
  
Monica pressed the stop button on the tape player, her throat dry. She didn't need to hear anymore. She knew who helped Chandler get Ross a Christmas present that year.  
  
"Hey, Mon!" Chandler walked into the apartment cheerfully. His cheeriness seemed to dissolve, however, when Monica spun around, her eyes flaming.  
  
"You love me?" she practically screamed.   
  
He staggered backwards, shocked. "Wha - what?"  
  
"Do you love me?" she demanded.  
  
He gulped, then nodded weakly, confirming that the tape wasn't made for fun at all.   
  
"When - My God..." angrily, she stamped off, across the apartment and into the hall. She slammed the door, then opened it. "Don't you dare talk to me," she threatened and left again.   
  
Chandler sunk down into the yellow couch, realising he might've lost her friendship - maybe forever.  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
A few days on, Monica had been avoiding Chandler completely, despite his many desperate attempts to apologise, though he really didn't know why he was apologising. "Who controls who you fall in love with?" he reasoned with himself.  
  
Finally giving in, he decided to ask Joey for help. When it came to ladies, whoever the lady was, Joey was the one you needed to look for.  
  
"Get her something. Give her something," he suggested.  
  
Chandler sat back to think over the option. He finally grinned, accepting the idea. "I'll try."  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
That night, Monica found a small card. It was found wedged between her bedroom door and the floor. Curiously she pulled it out and read it out.   
  
'Monica,  
  
I've been friends with you since forever, and I can't believe we're not talking over me being in love with you. Yes, I'm in love with you, but I can't help it if you don't love me too - I need to be with you. These past few days have been nightmares.  
  
Just give me a chance. One date, one lousy date, and you can choose whether you want me as a friend or more.  
  
Please, think it over.  
  
--Chandler'  
  
Monica sighed. That night, she got very little sleep as she thought the thing over. Finally, she decided on it - a date it was.  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
Oddly, she seemed to fuss over this date much more than she usually would with some other person. For example, she specially bought a new dress. And she had also begged Rachel to do her hair and her make-up.   
  
And the night came. Rachel [or any other person of the group other than Joey, for that matter] didn't know who Monica was fussing over, so she wanted to stay until he came, but the brunette didn't let her. So that night, Chandler rang the doorbell and almost fainted at the sight before him. She looked beautiful. Just beautiful. There were no other words to describe the angel that stood before him.  
  
"You look...you look...beautiful."  
  
Monica blushed slightly and smiled. "Thanks...you don't look too bad yourself."  
  
For a moment there, it felt as if it was normal again. As if the whole thing on Christmas had never happened. But as Chandler smiled shyly, the whole reason to why they were there together was remembered. She stiffened and told him to hurry up and leave. Chandler's balloon of happiness suddenly deflated. "Okay, Mon," he said half-heartedly and walked out the door behind her.  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
"And he says, 'I never liked you anyway!'!" Chandler finished his joke and Monica burst into laughter. Monica tried to avoid the Christmas event, as they called it, through out dinner, and had enjoyed it thoroughly.   
  
"Oh my God!" she giggled. Chandler smiled goofily. "I know!!" he imitated Monica. Since it was only Chandler, she laughed at that too. But if it were anyone else, she realised, it would be murder.  
  
Chandler paused for a minute as if he was thinking over something. "You know..."  
  
Monica looked up from her food. "Yeah?"  
  
"I got something for you," he shuffled his feet nervously. Monica looked surprised. "Really?" He nodded and put his hand into one of his jacket pockets, and a few seconds later pulled out a long, slender grey velvet box. She took it from him eagerly and opened it, and her breath got caught in her throat.  
  
She took out the beautiful gold braclet from the box. It was thin, and it had a charm hanging off it, in the shape of a heart. The charm bore the simple words 'I love you'. It was breathtaking, yet it made Monica feel guilty. "Chandler - yo - you shouldn't have..."  
  
"I wanted to," Chandler said.   
  
"Bu - but why?" She was a stammering mess, but Chandler didn't seem to notice or care.  
  
"Because I love you," he explained in a soft, loving tone.  
  
With tears brimming her soft doe-eyes, she looked up at him and smiled. "Sorry for being such an ass lately," she remarked, sniffing.   
  
"It's not a problem, you did better than how I would've reacted if I were in your shoes," he chuckled. Her smile grew wider, and she slipped the bracelet on. It was a little loose, but that problem could be fixed on a visit to the jewelry shop.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"For?"  
  
"Everything, Chandler. For everything."  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
"Tonight was wonderful."  
  
"It was, wasn't it?" Chandler gave a cute grin.  
  
Monica nodded, laughing a little. "Yeah, I - I loved it." She hesitated a little, then took a deep breath. "And I think I love you."  
  
Chandler's eyes widened, then his face broke out into a big smile. "I love you too." They closed their eyes and their lips met in a soft, sweet kiss.   
  
They broke apart and Monica grinned, something she seemed to be doing a lot that night. Her eyes danced in the dim lighting of the hallway. "I do love you..." she said with a giggle. She ran her fingers through his hair as he tightened his grip around her waist, and they kissed once more.  
  
"I don't usually say this on the first date - but do you wanna come in?" she asked breathlessly. Chandler nodded and their lips met again, in a frenzier kiss, as Monica fumbled with the lock of her apartment. They entered...  
  
...and Rachel, Ross and Phoebe gasped. Whatever they had expected when they heard the voices in the hall, this certainly wasn't part of it.  
  
Ross finally found his voice. "What the hell??!?" he questioned.  
  
Chandler pulled away from Monica and froze. "I can explain..." he said nervously.  
  
"Yeah, explain," Ross walked up to him, and at once, he punched him right in the nose.   
  
Chandler fell to the floor since he hadn't been expecting it, his nose bleeding. He looked up at Ross in astonishment but without another word he got up - though he seemed to struggle a bit - and left.  
  
Monica spun around to look at her brother, tears threatening to spill from the same eyes that had been gleaming with happiness just a few minutes ago. "I can't believe you."  
  
Ross, who was looking pleased up until that moment, was surprised. "Aren't you happy I chased him off?"  
  
"Chased him off, huh?" she chuckled drily. "I'm not happy at all, Ross, I'm not happy at all." With this words, she kicked off her high heel shoes so she could run over to Chandler. She was so engrossed in getting to him that she didn't notice the bracelet slipping off her wrist and onto the apartment floor.  
  
Joey, Ross and Phoebe were too shocked by Monica kicking off her shoes to notice the bracelet, either. It was Rachel who had caught a glimpse of the shimmering gold, and it was Rachel who went over to it and picked it up. She stared at the charm, and then moved her gaze to Ross. Her face hardened. "What did you do that for?" she asked angrily.   
  
Ross looked even more astounded. His sister herself turning her back on her was okay, but this was getting ridiculous. "What?"  
  
"He loves her. Did you know that, Ross? Did you know that he loved her? Did you know that Monica loves him too?" Ross shook his head slowly. Rachel laughed coarsely. "Of course you didn't. Because you're too involved in protecting your sister. Are you aware of the fact that Monica is twenty-eight and that she can protect herself?"  
  
Rachel didn't wait for an answer. She turned around and slammed the door behind her as she left.  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
"I'm so sorry, sweetie," Monica said sadly to Chandler as she handed him some ice. Chandler shook his head. "It's not your fault..."  
  
"I really do love you, you know. I don't care what he thinks," Monica told him.  
  
"I really love you too, Mon," he set down the cloth of ice and gingerly kissed the brunette.  
  
She smiled at him. "You're too sweet."  
  
Suddenly the door opened, and both of their heads swerved to see who was entering. It was Rachel.  
  
"Congradulations you two," she told them, beaming. She handed the bracelet to Monica.  
  
"It's a beauty," she told Monica with a grin. "Don't lose it..." then, as if it was an after thought, she added, "Or him."  
  
Chandler and Monica exchanged glances. "I won't." Monica confirmed happily.  
  
The door opened again, and this time Ross was the one who came in. "I'm sorry I reacted like that, you guys," he told the new couple regretfully. "I didn't mean to do that."  
  
"It's okay...what put some sense into you?"  
  
Ross half-smiled. "It's more of a 'who'," he remarked, pointing at Rachel. Rachel blushed. "Yeah, I gave him a good telling-off," she giggled.  
  
Monica laughed. "I see..." she turned to Rachel. "Thanks."  
  
"Does anyone want a pizza or anything?" Ross asked out of the blue, shocking everyone there. "It's eleven at night, bro," Monica reminded him.  
  
"So? Joey's still hungry, and so am I...besides, it's on me!"  
  
Chandler shrugged. "Sure!"  
  
Rachel and Ross nodded and left first, leaving the couple alone.  
  
"I love you."  
  
"I love you too."  
  
And Monica and Chandler exited, feeling more happier than they had ever been their lives. 


End file.
